The next day, Tina woke up to the sun shining brightly in her eyes. Partially blinded, she got up and staggered to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She went downstairs only to find San lounging on the couch and that she was incredibly early. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, wondering whether to say what she was thinking. She decided to do so and so she swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Can I... Do something really quickly?" she asked.
He turned and looked at her before nodding. She walked behind the sofa and leant on it, resting her legs before turning his head to the side.
He opened his mouth to protest but she was ready.
"Calm down I'm just doing something real quick, it'll be fine." she reassured.
His mouth shut and he sat their silently, his gaze turning to look at her, she had to turn his head again a few times but overall it was OK. Within a few minutes, it was finished. She turned his head to the other side and started working on that. It was nice, she finally completed the look she'd built up over years and got a perfect view of his side profile.
"Done," she said, proud of herself.
She walked around to examine her work, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as he was staring right at her. She found herself looking straight into his dark brown eyes as black as the night sky. They twinkled with stars and she found herself reflected back in them, the grey of her eyes like two bright shining moons within his. She found herself lost in them, captivated. They had half an hour until they had to go to school and she was more than happy to spend it exploring those endless pits she'd barely looked into. She was ready to jump down into the unknown and find all sorts of hidden gems, all sorts of secrets. She wanted to find out everything about him, the boy who had saved her from her callous parents, the boy who had come home drunk and kissed her, the boy who had been with her every step of the way, never angry at her, the boy who - although she would never admit it - had stolen her heart.
But she couldn't. They weren't anything more than friends and she hated it. But there wasn't anything she could do now. Instead she sat beside him leaning her head on his shoulder gently. She felt his body rise and fall as he breathed and they sat in silence before he spoke up.
"Your birthday's tomorrow." he said.
She nodded, slightly shocked at how the date had slipped her mind.
"You're gonna be 18." he continued.
She nodded again.
The room filled with silence. A comfortable silence, not an awkward one. Just the two of them, resting against each other, waiting for the time to go. The minutes flew by, too quickly, Tina observed.
When they got to school, she was more than relieved to see there was no crowd waiting for them. She smiled and walked to class. Upon arrival, she saw that everyone had lined up at the back of the classroom. Confused, she glanced at San who's eyes were trained onto the board. There was a new seating plan. And Tina was opposite both Lara and San, separated from her two friends. But what was worse, was that Lina was sitting beside San. She wanted to wipe that smirk off her face and shove it into the depths of hell. But she couldn't. Instead, she took a deep breath in and out before walking over to her seat with everyone else.
She slumped down and got all her things out, without company beside her. Throughout the lesson she had a conflict inside of her, forcing herself not to turn around. After class, she joined up with Lara and walked around aimlessly, talking, catching up.
"How is it?" Lara asked.
"Fine." she mumbled in reply.
"Is it Lina? You know San would never go for her right?" Lara caught on quickly.
